PFA Player of the Year winners 1974-2007 - Telegraph PFA Player of the Year winners 1974-2007 12:01AM BST 27 Apr 2008 PFA Player of the Year 1974-2007 1974 Norman Hunter - 'Bite yer legs' Hunter was a central defender for the feared Leeds United tean of the 1960s and 70s, he was also a member of the 1966 World Cup winning squad. 1975 Colin Todd- Currently manager of Randers FC, Todd won two Football League titles with Derby County in the 1970s, and was capped for England 27 times. 1976 Pat Jennings OBE- Former goalkeeper for Northern Ireland, Jennings played 119 games for his country. He played 1,000 top level games for clubs and even managed to score a goal in the 1967 Charity Shield. 1977 Andy Gray - Former Scotland striker, Andy Gray is now a football pundit for Sky Sports.

He began his career with Dundee United before moving to Aston Villa, until Cristiano Ronaldo won in 2006-07, Gray was the only player to receive the PFA Young Player of the Year, and the Player of the year the following season. 1978 Peter Shilton OBE - England's most capped international player, Shilton earned 125 caps in goal for his country over 30 years. His career included eight clubs, three World Cups, two European Cup finals and over 1,000 competitive matches. 1979 Liam Brady - Former Ireland international, Brady is the current assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team. He was a renowned midfielder with a notable left foot. He found success with Arsenal and Juventus and earned 72 international caps. 1980 Terry McDermott - Liverpool fan McDermott was initially overlooked by his local club and was signed to Newcastle in 1973. He met Liverpool in the 74 FA Cup final which Newcastle lost 3-0, but McDermott's dreams were fulfilled when six months later Liverpool manager Bob Paisley signed him to the Merseyside club.

1981 John Wark - John Wark was a defensive midfielder with an astonishing goals coring record - 165 over 22 years. He began his career at Ipswich, returned there after four years at Liverpool and finished his career there after a spell at Middlesbrough. 1982 Kevin Keegan - Kevin Keegan is widely regarded as one of the greatest English footballers - and the only one to be named European Footballer of the Year twice. He finished his playing career at Newcastle United where he is currently manager. He has also managed Fulham, Manchester City and the senior England team. 1983 Kenny Dalglish - Former Scottish international Kenny Dalglish is renowned for his success with both Celtic and Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s. He was the first player to win 100 caps for Scotland, and with 20 goals he shares the top scorer title with Dennis Law. 1984 Ian Rush - Welsh striker, Ian rush was well known for his partnership with Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool.

He scored 254 goals over a 21-year career at eight different clubs: Chester, Liverpool, Juventus, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic. 1985 Peter Reid - Peter Reid started his playing career in 1974 at Bolton, he also spent a number of years with Everton and Queens Park Rangers. He won 13 caps for England and was one of the players passed by Diego Maradona when he scored his second goal of the quarter-final of the same tournament. 1986 Gary Lineker - Former England striker Gary Lineker, scored 10 goals in two World Cups and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC. He had a prolific career at a number of clubs, including; Leicester, Everton, FC Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur. During his career he was never cautioned or sent off by the referee. 1987 Clive Allen - Son of former Spurs forward Les Allen, Clive Allen enjoyed a career as a prolific goals corer at a number of clubs. He made big headlines in 1980 when as a teenager he was sold for £1.25 million.

1988 John Barnes -Former Liverpool player John Barnes was scouted by Watford as a schoolboy playing for non-league Sudbury Court - his signing fee was a set of kit. He is currently acting as a part-time scout in the Caribbean for Sunderland and is also a broadcaster channel Five. 1989 Mark Hughes - nicknamed 'Sparky', Mark Hughes is a former Wales international and currently manager of Blackburn Rovers. He played for a number of high profile clubs, most notable were his two spells at Manchester United during which he scored 119 goals. 1990 David Platt - a strong-running, free-scoring midfielder who enjoyed a successful career in the 80s and 90s. He had shown little promise as an international until he was taken off the bench against Belgium in the second round game and scored the goal to put England through to the quarter-finals. 1991 Mark Hughes - Before his retirement in 2002 Mark Hughes played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and Blackburn Rovers. His first managerial post was for the Welsh national side, he was appointed in 1999 and remained in the role for five years.

1992 Gary Pallister - Gary Pallister made up one half of one of the most notable defensive partner ships in English football at Manchester United with Steve Bruce. During his nine years at United, Pallister won three FA Cups, four Premier League titles, one League title and one Cup Winners' Cup. 1993 Paul McGrath - Paul McGrath's background of Irish and Nigerian saw him become one of the first Irish celebrities of a mixed-race background. He was a key defender for Manchester United, Aston Villa, Derby County and Sheffield United. He also earned 83 caps for Northern Ireland. 1994 Eric Cantona - Referred to as 'King Eric' by Manchester United fans, Cantona is praised for reviving the club - he put them back to their status as a footballing powerhouse. He is also remembered for an incident against Crystal Palace where, after being sent-off he launched a kung-fu kick against a Palace fan - he was banned from playing for nine months. 1995 Alan Shearer OBE - Alan Shearer became the world's most expensive footballer in 1996 when he was bought by Newcastle for £15 million.

He was a huge success at Kevin Keegan's club scoring 25 goals in 31 games. Shearer still holds the Premier League goals coring record with 260. 1996 Les Ferdinand MBE - Les Ferdinand is a former England striker, and most remembered for his time at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers. He is the cousin of Premiership players Rio and Anton Ferdinand, and was the first player to score for six different Premier League clubs. 1997 Alan Shearer OBE - Alan Shearer made 63 appearances for England and scored 30 goals making him joint-fifth in the England all-time goals corers list with Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney. He was named England captain for two years before he announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2000. 1998 Dennis Bergkamp - Widely regarded as one of the English Premier League's all-time greatest players Dennis Bergkamp played his best games as a support striker at Arsenal. In 2007 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame - the first ever Dutch player to receive the honour.

1999 David Ginola - David Ginola, the former French international began his career in France with Toulon in 1985. He played with three other French clubs before signing for Newcastle United in 1995. After two years he moved to Tottenham and quickly became regarded as one of the best wingers of all time. 2000 Roy Keane - Current manager of Sunderland, the Irish midfielder has been hailed as one of the greatest players ever. He was noted for his aggressive and competitive style of play, an attitude which earned him the captains armband at Manchester United for eight years. He has been called Sunderland's saviour - the club was 23rd in the Championship when he took over, he has helped them climb their way back to the Premiership. 2001 Teddy Sheringham MBE - The veteran England international is currently playing at Colchester United but has enjoyed a prolific career which has seen him win almost every domestic honour - most notably the Treble with Manchester United. He was capped 51 times for the England senior team and scored 11 goals.

After a 26-year career he announced this year that he will retire at the end of the 2007-08 campaign. 2002 Ruud van Nistelrooy - Currently playing with Real Madrid, van Nistelrooy holds the record at Manchester United for being the club's top scorer in European competition. He has also been the top scorer in three different European leagues as well as being the Champions League's top scorer in three different seasons. 2003 Thierry Henry - Renowned for his pace, goals coring and ability to create assists, the French striker is currently playing at FC Barcelona. He made his name as a world-class footballer after his move to Arsenal. He initially struggled with in the Premiership however, he emerged as Arsenal's top goals corer almost every season that he was there. 2004 Thierry Henry - Thierry Henry became Arsenal's all time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. While under Arsene Wenger's leadership he won two league titles and three FA Cups. He was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times.

HE left Arsenal after eight years for a fee of £16.1 million. 2005 John Terry - Chelsea centre back John Terry has previously been voted best defender in the 2005 Champions League and was included in the FIFPro World XI for 2005, 2006 and 2007. He was also the only English player to make the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 2006 Steven Gerrard - Liverpool's captain grew up as an Everton fan but is now nick-named 'Mr Liverpool'. He has been named European Midfielder of the Year, Premier League Most Valuable Player twice and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has been nominated three times for the FIFA Player of the Year, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. On 5 February 2008, it was announced he had been voted by fans as the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007. 2007 Cristiano Ronaldo - This season's leading goals corer (28) Cristiano Ronaldo came third in the 2007 World Player of the Year.

He is widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers of his generation. Johan Cruyff enthused in an April 2, 2008 interview, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United." Eden Hazard wins PFA Player of the Year award – as it happened | Football | The Guardian PFA Player of the Year awards Eden Hazard wins PFA Player of the Year award – as it happened Eden Hazard was named PFA Player of the Year, while Harry Kane took home the Young Player of the Year and Ji So-yun won the women’s award Updated Sunday 26 April 2015 18.35 EDT First published on Sunday 26 April 2015 13.01 EDT Right, that’s your lot. I’ll leave you with one more shot of a banal trophy, for the road. Goodnight! Chris (@onedavebamber) So, to summarise for those of you who can’t be arsed to scroll down a bit, here are the winners of the awards announced tonight: PFA Player of the Year: Eden Hazard.

PFA Young Player of the Year: Harry Kane Women’s Player of the Year: Ji So-yun Women’s Young Player of the Year: Leah Williamson PFA Merit Award: Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard Here’s 51 seconds of pure fried gold from the PFA Player of the Year... PFA (@PFA) Hazard is asked about potential interest from Real Madrid, and says: “No, I’m staying.” In fairness, it would’ve been a majestically-timed announcement if he said he was off. Eden Hazard wins PFA Player of the Year award To the surprise of precisely nobody. And well-deserved it is too. Winner of the PFA’s Men’s Player of the Year, Eden Hazard. Photograph: Barrington Coombs/PA Here’s his charisma-packed reaction: “I’m very happy. One day I want to be the best and what I did this season is play very well, Chelsea played very well. I don’t know if I deserve to win but it is good for me. It is good, it is better to be voted by the players - they know everything about football. This is good. I’m very happy.” “We are almost champions, maybe this is the key.

Last season we finished third and this season we have an opportunity to win the league. This has changed from last season. “I continue like I did last season - I try to be the same. I try to score more goals than last season. Personally I have played a good season, I have been there in the big games and I scored a lot of important goals, this is why I’m better this season.” And the big one is coming up. The tension is unbearable... 18:15 Harry Kane wins Young Player of the Year The second biggest non-surprise of the evening. Eden Hazard was second in the voting. IS THAT AN OMEN FOR THE MAIN AWARD? Kane said: “It is amazing. It is a very proud moment for myself and my family - hopefully the first of many to come,” Kane said of his award. “I have got to keep working hard, but to be recognised by your fellow players is something special and it is a night I wont forget. “It is incredible, an incredible feeling.” Asked to sum up his season in one word, Kane went for: “Unreal.” Winner of the PFA’s Young Player of the Year, Harry Kane.

Photograph: Barrington Coombs/PA 18:12 Christine Deudney (@Pops_Mum) @NickMiller79 Who's going to win the GE (assuming we don't already know by the time this is over)? Jesse Jackson. He’s running, right? A match between 11 duck sized Harry Kanes and one Harry Kane sized duck? - Thomas Wolldridge I’ll take the duck-sized Harry Kanes. Have you got a good name for the band I’ve just founded? - Patrick Michael Hull Steve. Ji So-yun wins Women's Player of the Year PFA’s Womens Player of the Year Ji So-Yun. Photograph: Barrington Coombs/PA She said: “It is a big honour to receive this award - I want to thank Chelsea Ladies’ players and staff. “I’m really, really happy to be nominated alongside Hazard, I’m really proud of myself and Chelsea, and the Chelsea Ladies team.” 18:08 Chris Deeley (@ThatChris1209) @NickMiller79 Quick, switch to liveblogging in German. OR start tweeting old jokes at people covering never-ending awards presentations.

Leah Williamson wins Women's Young Player of the Year An announcement! A thing! Winner of the PFA’s Young Women’s Player of the Year, Leah Williamson. Photograph: Barrington Coombs/PA 18:03 If you were to have a dinner party and could invite one cartoon character to it. Who would you invite? - Steven Billing The owner of Tom from Tom & Jerry. She’s just a voice and a pair of feet so I wouldn’t have to cook anything and could just have a bacon sandwich. Being a Spurs fan I hope Kane wins it. Do you have any inside information regarding summer transfers ? - Trevor Titmus Yes - Arsenal are preparing a £2million bid for Kane. Daniel Levy will negotiate them up to £2.25million. No. She’s almost certainly out of your league and you’re going to die alone. Leo Watkins (@leowatkins) @NickMiller79 can you take bets on what implement Alan Shearer is going to use to murder Robbie Savage live on MOTD?

17:57 Tom Price (@sixstringtom) @NickMiller79 What advice would you give someone who wants to avoid having to do MBM reports of tedious awards shows...ohwaitnevermind. Let’s not be a smartarse now, Tom. Smiffy (@marksmith51035) 17:52 Christ this is dragging on. Times like this one of those nodding bird things that Homer uses in the episode he works from home would be useful. Of course, that nearly caused a nuclear meltdown, but the stakes aren’t quite as high here at the Guardian. Anyone got any questions? Doesn’t have to be about football - just general advice on life. Email nick.miller@theguardian.com or tweet @NickMiller79 Updated Nice selection here, although that one on the far left is a little flamboyant for my liking. It isn’t sure what it wants to be, either - is it a trophy? Is it a shield? Is it a cup? Dave McClelland (@daveinho98) @NickMiller79 Just some of the trophies, My favourite being most improved player from chelsea soccer schools.

pic.twitter.com/HgTOtDqcTp Trophy update. Textbook stuff here - shield with a football on it, cup with a disproportionately big base. Lovely. Daniel Hicks (@ddm_hicks) @NickMiller79 My only football tournament win Gedney Under 11s 6-a-side and the famous Camp Champ FPL trophy. pic.twitter.com/tz1urEHjlk The ‘turn’ is on. One imagines he’ll cause less of a ludicrous stir than Reginald D Hunter. Alan Smith (@alansmith90) Clive Allen won the thing in 1987. As you’ll recall, he had a brief spell as a kicker for short-lived American football team the London Monarchs after his playing career ended. Clive Allen, the London Monarch’s famous No.5. Photograph: CRAIG, PRENTIS/ALLSPORT Nothing much appears to be happening at the moment. This is excitement in action. Here’s another trophy from a bloke on Twitter. Feel free to send in pictures of your favourite trophies. The more banal the better.

Max Mclean (@maxmclean10) Would stick with ‘Your Engraving Here’ too, never mind who wins... Football Clichés (@FootballCliches) The PFA trophy's a bit much. All individual football awards should be this chap with a side-parting & plastic plinth. pic.twitter.com/OrYZUOd4z6 Gary Lineker lifted the award back in 1986, the season he scored 38 goals for Everton. He then left for Barcelona, and invited Willie Thorne out to share some drinks. Gary Lineker and Willie Thorne kick back. Photograph: Colorsport/REX Shutterstock Here’s Phil Coutinho with the little trinket you get for getting in the team of the year. He looks pretty happy about it, too. Philippe Coutinho part of the PFA Team of the Year. Photograph: Barrington Coombs/PA Here’s Ritchie Humphreys, chairman of the PFA, giving his speech. Or reading some experimental poetry. Difficult to tell, really. Ritchie Humphreys (@ritchiehumphs) Kenny Dalglish won in 1983. Here he is catching up on some correspondence.

Even kings have to do their paperwork. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Bob Thomas/Getty Images 16:24 Alex Hess (@A_Hess) Seems that whoever used to design the typeface for RL Stine's Goosebumps books has since been employed by the PFA pic.twitter.com/AYDlomQtd6 Another former winner, Terry McDermott, lifted the prize in 1980. Here he is playing cards with Phil Thompson on the Charity Shield. Terry Mc and Phil Thompson. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Bob Thomas/Getty Images 16:12 In his acceptance speech, Steven Gerrard says he’s looking forward to playing in the Major League Soccer, but afterwards he’d like to come back for a job at Liverpool. What job, isn’t clear. “Hard work, sacrifice, a bit of luck along the way and to be surrounded by great staff,” says Gerrard, when asked about the secret of his success. Quick story about Gerrard, that makes me laugh much more than it probably should.

He was on the phone to someone while going round a supermarket with his wife, but he broke off halfway through the conversation to turn to said wife and say: “How many times do I have to tell you - I can’t eat fuckin’ Pringles.” Norman Whiteside doesn’t seem that impressed about it, mind... Norman Whiteside (@NormanWhiteside) 16:03 Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have been given the PFA Merit Award, which seems to be the equivalent of a lifetime achievement thing they give to people like Paul Weller at the Brits every year. Still, bit weird that they’ve raided someone’s nan’s hearth to get a couple of trophies for it. PFA (@PFA) The internet is weird... Alejandro Arreola (@AlexDaHitman) @PFA Excellent account, you are the best, could you please follow me? I'm a big fan of you! Thank you and please don't ignore me! Another past winner, Andy Gray, who lifted the top award in 1977 (becoming the first of three players to also win young player in the same year). Here he is in the suit he wore to the ceremony. Andy Gray.

Photograph: Bob Thomas/Bob Thomas/Getty Images 15:28 A nice moment as a tribute is paid to Dylan Tombides, the West Ham youth player who died earlier this year of testicular cancer, aged just 20. For more on Tombides, Daniel Taylor wrote about him earlier this year : His next three years are a reminder what a callous, indiscriminate disease this is, and the horrors its sufferers have to go through. It’s brutal, chemotherapy. It strips your muscles, it wipes you out, it tests your sanity. There is an old quote: “The goal is pretty much to kill everything in your body without killing you.” And every time those little drips of poison appeared to have beaten the cancer, every time Dylan and his family thought they could start to live properly again, it returned within six to eight weeks, stronger than before. He was dying a slow death but, boy, he did everything he could to try to see the bastard off. Dylan is not the first professional footballer to contract cancer. He may be the first, though, to continue playing during the ordeal. He made his debut for West Ham with the disease in his body.

He played in the Asian Under-22 Championships in Oman three weeks after intensive chemotherapy. 15:18 How ‘bout some past winners, eh? Going back to the start, Norman Hunter won the first award in 1974, and said a few years ago about it: To me personally it meant everything. It was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. My fellow pros voting for me, a defender, with the reputation I had? It gave me a lot of pleasure and a lot of satisfaction. It was definitely one of the best moments in my career without a doubt and from a personal point of view probably the best. It was the first one. Everybody was in there for it. The gaffer told me - and how he knew I don’t know - that I was going to win it and he was right. Among the pros I got a lot of congratulations. I had this reputation and all that went with it, but players weren’t going to vote for you if you couldn’t do the other things well, it’s as simple as that.

If all I could do was tackle and supposedly kick people and things like that, all the players of the day would certainly not have voted for me, so for me personally it was the best recognition. You just don’t get that award if you can’t play. It’s the top award for any footballer. 14:58 Ben, North London, dons his tinfoil hat to write: “Harry Kane clearly deserves the award. If Hazard wins then the pro Chelsea conspiracy will be proven correct.” Speaking of conspiracy theories, there’s an absolutely sensational one stating that Tupac is still alive and well, one of the pieces of ‘evidence’ for which is that whoever ‘shot’ him fired loads of bullets but none of them hit Suge Knight (who has his own problems at the moment), who is a big man, and therefore should’ve been hit. In fact, there are loads along similar lines. Here are some . 14:05 So, here we are. The annual distribution of peer-voted trinkets, the worth of an entire season boiled down to who gets the biggest collection of Xs in their respective boxes.

There’s probably room at this point for an extended riff on this being just like the election (because that’s soon, isn’t it! The election! Soon! It also features voting!), but we’re all better than that, and if we go down the ‘footballers as political parties’ route then we could head for some pretty choppy waters. Even though we probably all know who’s going to win, it is worth familiarising ourselves with the nominees, so here they are: PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard - Chelsea 13:01 Six Chelsea players feature in the PFA’s Premier League team of the year, which was announced on Twitter ahead of tonight’s PFA Awards ceremony. Player of the Year nominees Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are joined in the team by defenders John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and midfielder Nemanja Matic, while Harry Kane features after scoring 31 goals for Tottenham this season. Manchester United’s David de Gea is named in goal, with fellow Player of the Year nominees Philippe Coutinho and Alexis Sánchez also included. Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand, who joined the Saints permanently from Chelsea in January, completes the team at left-back.

But who will win the main award? Nick Miller will be here shortly to take you through the ceremony. Leicester have none YET - but which club has the most PFA Player of the Year award winners? | talkSPORT Football Leicester have none YET - but which club has the most PFA Player of the Year award winners? Norman Hunter won it for Leeds in 1973-74, Colin Todd for Derby in 1974-75, Peter Shilton for Forest in 1977-78, John Wark for Ipswich in 1980-81, Kevin Keegan for Southampton in 1981-82 and Alan Shearer for Premier League winning Blackburn in 1994-95. By Jack Austin - @jackaustin_1 Wednesday, April 20, 2016 The PFA awards take place on Sunday with, among others, the PFA Player of the Year, Team of the Year and Young Player of the Year announced.

Competing for the top award this year are Leicester City trio Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, Tottenham’s Harry Kane, West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil . The first PFA Player of the Year was announced in 1974 and since then there have been 37 different winners, with only five players winning it twice (Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer , Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale ). Shearer is the only player to be recognised while playing for two different clubs while Ronaldo and Henry are the only two to win it in two consecutive seasons. Ronaldo’s remarkable 2007-08 season so him become one of only three to win the main award and the Young Player of the Year in the same season, along with Bale and Andy Gray. Unsurprisingly, England are the country with the most winners with 18, followed by Wales (six) and France (four). But which club has the most recipients of the award? talkSPORT reveals all… Click the arrow above, right, to see the countdown!

Luis Suarez scoops PFA Player of the Year award as Liverpool striker completes remarkable turnaround | Daily Mail Online Luis Suarez scoops PFA Player of the Year award as Liverpool striker completes remarkable turnaround Suarez has scored 30 Premier League goals this season Chelsea's Eden Hazard named Young Player of the Year Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw named in Team of the Year No Manchester United player in Team of the Year for first time since 1990 PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS Player of the Year: Luis Suarez (Liverpool). Young Player of the Year: Eden Hazard (Chelsea). Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Liverpool Ladies). Women's Young Player of the Year: Martha Harris (Liverpool Ladies). Luis Suarez was named PFA Player of the Year on Sunday night in recognition of his astonishing 30 Premier League goals this season, which have helped catapult Liverpool into the title race. The award caps a remarkable turnaround for the striker, who was banned for 10 games at the end of the last campaign after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

However, having missed the first six matches of this season, Suarez returned to the Liverpool side at the end of September and formed an incredible partnership with Daniel Sturridge - the pair have hit 50 Premier League goals so far. Well-deserved: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez scooped the PFA Player of the Year award on Sunday night All smiles: Suarez poses with Chelsea's Eden Hazard who scooped the award for Young Player of the Year Danger man: Suarez celebrates the latest of his 30 Premier League goals for Liverpool this season Upset: The Uruguayan didn't have the best of times against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea on Sunday afternoon More... Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are top class, but Lionel Messi is better! Neymar backs team-mate in battle to be world's best Suarez, who played as Liverpool lost 2-0 to Chelsea at Anfield hours before the ceremony, said: 'The Premier League is full of really great players and so it is a great honour when these players recognise your work on the pitch.

'I always try my best for the team and it is nice to get awards but really this is for my team-mates and the staff at Liverpool because without their help I wouldn't have this prize.' Chelsea forward Eden Hazard, who scooped the Young Player of the Year award, came second in the main vote, while Manchester City talisman Yaya Toure came third. Suarez, who becomes the first Liverpool player to win the award since Steven Gerrard in 2006, was the overwhelming favourite for the top award. The Uruguayan has put behind him a troublesome year which saw him agitating for a move in the summer, even at one stage claiming manager Brendan Rodgers had reneged on a deal to allow him to leave for a Champions League club. Man in form: Suarez has been in breathtaking form in front of goal all season long for the Reds Bang in form: Suarez has somehow managed to net a staggering 30 goals for the Premier League title chasers PFA TEAM OF THE YEAR GK: Petr Cech (Chelsea) ST: Luis Suarez (Liverpool) ST: Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool) Rodgers' handling of the situation has been impressive but the Liverpool boss insisted all of the credit should be with the player.

'He is a brilliant talent. I think the supporters have seen him mature over the course of the last season,' Rodgers said of Suarez on Friday. 'I think he was in a real low moment after that game (against Chelsea last year) but he has gone away and probably looked in the mirror and reflected on himself because he is not that type of guy and it probably just spilled over. 'He is a really intelligent man who fits the values of this club, which is all about humility, class and he has all of that. 'He is a sheer winner and that probably overspilled last year but his development over the last year has been remarkable both on and off the field and Liverpool have benefited from that. 'For me he is the consistently outstanding player over the course of the last year.' Trouble: Suarez was banned for eight games after Patrice Evra claimed he was racially abused by the striker LUIS SUAREZ - WHAT A YEAR 2013 April 21 - Bites Branislav Ivanovic on the arm but escapes punishment on the pitch as the referee fails to see it, and scores Liverpool's equaliser seven minutes into stoppage time as they draw 2-2 with Chelsea at Anfield.

April 24 - Handed 10-game ban by an independent regulatory commission for biting Ivanovic, confirmed by the Football Association. May 31 - Signals his intention to leave Liverpool. August 6 - Repeats his desire to leave after a bid from Arsenal of £40,000,001 is turned down. Made to train away from the first team. Controversy: Suarez was handed a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic August 14 - Returns to first team and apologises for trying to leave. September 25 - Makes his return from suspension in Liverpool's 1-0 Carling Cup defeat to rivals Manchester United. December 15 - Scores twice in Liverpool's emphatic 5-0 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. December 20 - After scoring 17 goals since his return, signs a new long-term contract with the Reds. December 29 - Jose Mourinho accuses Suarez of 'doing an acrobatic swimming pool jump to try get a penalty' during Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

2014 February 16 - Powerless to prevent Liverpool exiting the FA Cup in fifth round defeat to Arsenal. March 30 - Scores in the Reds' 4-0 humiliation of Tottenham at Anfield. The win sees Liverpool move to the top of the Premier League table. Back of the net: Suarez fired Liverpool to the top of the Premier League as he scored against Tottenham April 18 - Nominated alongside Liverpool team-mates Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge for PFA Player of the Year award. April 20 - Becomes the first Liverpool player since Ian Rush to score 30 goals in a Premier League season. Goal comes in Liverpool's 3-2 victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road, a result which sends his side five points clear at the top of the league. April 27 - Hours after Liverpool suffer a painful Premier League defeat by Chelsea, Suarez is named winner of the PFA Player of the Year award.

Close: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, whose mistake proved costly against Chelsea, was on the shortlist Knows where the net is: Daniel Sturridge has scored 20 goals for Brendan Rodgers' side this year Suarez, who has terrorised Premier League defences all season, topped a six-man shortlist which also included his strike partner Sturridge, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, Toure, Hazard and Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana. Rather amusingly, Suarez walked into the room during comedian Kevin Bridge's set before the award was announced. The funnyman appeared to let Suarez off though, joking: 'Are you confident Luis?' All six nominees were named in the PFA's Premier League Team of the year, alongside Chelsea pair Petr Cech and Gary Cahill, Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and full backs Seamus Coleman and Luke Shaw of Everton and Southampton respectively. However, having seen four players named in last year's selection, not one Manchester United star made this year's XI following a disastrous campaign which saw manager David Moyes lose his job last week. It's the first time a United player has failed to make the Team of the Year since 1990.

Meanwhile, Liverpool had more reason to celebrate as defender Lucy Bronze won the Women's Player of the Year prize while team-mate Martha Harris scooped the Young Player award.

LIST OF PREVIOUS PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS 1973–74 Norman Hunter Leeds United 1974–75 Colin Todd Derby County 1975–76 Pat Jennings Tottenham Hotspur 1976–77 Andy Gray Aston Villa 1977–78 Peter Shilton Nottingham Forest 1978–79 Liam Brady Arsenal 1979–80 Liverpool FWA 1980–81 John Wark Ipswich Town 1981–82 Kevin Keegan Southampton 1982–83 Kenny Dalglish Liverpool 1983–84 Ian Rush Liverpool 1984–85 Peter Reid Everton 1985–86 Gary Lineker Everton 1986–87 Clive Allen Tottenham Hotspur 1987–88 John Barnes Liverpool 1988–89 Mark Hughes Man United 1989–90 David Platt Aston Villa 1990–91 Mark Hughes Man United 1991–92 Gary Pallister Man United 1992–93 Paul McGr

ath Aston Villa 1993–94 Eric Cantona Man United 1994–95 Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers 1995–96 Les Ferdinand Newcastle United 1996–97 Alan Shearer Newcastle United 1997–98 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 1998–99 David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur 1999–2000 Roy Keane Man United 2000–01 Teddy Sheringham Man United 2001–02 Ruud van Nistelrooy Man United 2002–03 Thierry Henry Arsenal 2003–04 Thierry Henry Arsenal 2004–05 John Terry Chelsea 2005–06 Steven Gerrard Liverpool 2006–07 Cristiano Ronaldo Man United 2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo Man United 2008–09 Ryan Giggs Man United 2009–10 Wayne Rooney Man United 2010–11 Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur 2011–12 Robin van Persie Arsenal 20

12–13 Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur Double delight: Gareth Bale won both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards last year In the running: Chelsea's attacking midfielder Eden Hazard was on the six-man shortlist Outside bet: Southampton captain Adam Lallana has had a superb season in behind the striker Quality on the ball: Yaya Toure has been brilliant for Manchester City yet again this campaign

Question: Who, in 1974, was the first PFA Player's Players of the Year?
Answer: NORMAN HUNTER